Why Look Back - Future's Bright For Smith

PREP FOOTBALL '89 SEMINOLE COUNTY

When Marquette Smith breaks into the open, he doesn't bother to look back.

Smith figures there's nothing to be gained. It's futile, Smith believes, to cover the same distance with your eyes that your feet already have covered.

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So, as Smith enters the 1989 season, he won't allow himself the luxury of looking back to his freshman and sophomore seasons. He simply is looking forward to getting started again.

But Lake Howell coaches and fans can't help but look back to Smith's first two seasons, when he ran for a combined 2,161 yards. Before that, Seminole County fans were astounded by his amazing 76 touchdowns playing youth football.

Smith rushed for 740 yards as a freshman, then added 1,421 yards and 18 touchdowns his sophomore season. That statistical piece of history presents a proper backdrop for a potentially bright future.

And it's that future where Smith has focused his attention.

''That's what makes Marquette so special,'' Lake Howell Coach Mike Bisceglia said. ''He has matured so much over the past two years.''

That's a scary thought for opposing defensive coordinators who must figure ways to slow Smith down. They know, and Bisceglia knows, what Smith has done and, more importantly, what he can do.

What he can do is see daylight and catapult his body into the opening with the quickness of a blinking eye. Last year, during one string of four games, Smith scored three touchdowns in each game. He returned kickoffs for touchdowns in consecutive games. Smith's second-half surge enabled Lake Howell to win its final five games. And he continued his end zone antics at the spring jamboree, breaking loose for three touchdowns, including a run of 56 yards.

''We'll be trying to get the ball to Marquette in many different ways,'' Bisceglia said. ''But he knows there's more to our offense than his skills.''

Indeed Smith knows, as he's the first to point to the blocking of fullback Cortez Graves as crucial to his success.

''I'm very lucky to have a fullback like Cortez in the backfield,'' Smith said. ''He's able to open the holes because the defense always has to be worried about him carrying the ball.

''I don't even want to think about not having Cortez in the backfield with me.''

Smith also singles out a veteran offensive line and senior quarterback Dan Vercek as reasons for his success.

''Dan was learning last year,'' Smith said. ''This year he's more experienced.

''The line was great last year, and I know they'll do even better this year. They have an extra year of experience. We won our last five games because of the team's improvement, not just me.''

Bisceglia is banking on Vercek's added experience to help get the ball to Smith - via the handoff or the pass.

''We would like to get the ball to Marquette on the pass,'' Bisceglia said. ''But he's not a very big target.''

Smith, at 5 feet 8 and 185 pounds, is not the county's tallest target, but he's certainly one of the strongest, spending long hours in the weight room.

''What a great attitude Marquette has about the weight room,'' Bisceglia said. ''He hasn't missed a day all summer.

''He can bench 365 pounds and does 760 in the squat. All of that has not only made him stronger but he's quicker.''

His weight-room work ethic complements his athletic talent and leadership-by-doing skills.

''He takes everything in stride,'' Bisceglia said. ''That's where his great maturity figures in. He's going to be one of our team leaders because of what he can do and also because of his fantastic attitude.''